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Show FOREWOR My interestin the handmade papers of Tndia was first aroused more than fifteen year ago in New Zealand where it was my privilege to examine in the Golonial Museum wll.ectth of papers that had been made more than fify years previously by prisoners i ian jails. Yiars later this same collection was presented o me by the Curato of tha Mmum and o forms an ateesting it of my assemblage of "paperiana" Thes specimens of paper of the middle incteenth century had been fabricated n the prisonso Merut, Salem, Surat, Agras Sailkot, Delhi, Aurangabad, Kangra, Hooghly, andvariou Jails in Madras. My journey to New Zealand was made on @ vepage to the South Se Tslands in search of information, equipment, and specimens relating to the making o mulberry bark"tapa,"a searchhich coentuated inmy book entitled "Primitive Papermaking," issued in 1927. Formore than fifteen years it had been mydesiretovisit Indi that Tmight see not only the mukmg of these unusual papers in the jails, but the entir handmade paper industr of that vast country. In the period followwing my sojourniin Ne Zealan I have made a mumber of papermaking pilgrimages to Asia-China, Japan Korea, Manchuria, Indo-China, Siam, Jaoa, Malaysia, etc..-but not until. the yea 1957 was it my good fortune o visit India Since 1926, /mw:wv 1 had been in correspondence with Mr. Tekunalla Venkaje of Rajakmundyy, Madras a ative gentlemanzohose keen insight andinterestinthe craf of Indian papermaking have beena constant inspiation to me. It was through the fel of this enthusiastic poormakin hat 1 0 enaledt i ey India where paper is stil fabricated by the ancient hand process. Without the ai of Mr. Venkajee my travels in India would not have materialized, for it was he wh arranged formy guide, Mr. Sara 20a Rao, himselfa papermaker, ant[/lamm myentire itinerarythrough the provinces andnative states where the making of handmad paper has not been entirely superseded by the introduction of the Occidental. ‘flapzmakm ‘machine.During our travel in India, both in the cities and rural papermaking districts it was my pleasure to meet native priests, teachers, merchants, artisans-men of a creeds and castes. These gentlemen, many of them of noble countenance and dignifie [5 |